The problem of this thesis is to evaluate the democracy of the practices and organization of certain school councils. As the problem is thus stated, it is necessarily two-fold in scope. The first approach is to devise some method of evaluating the practices and organization of school council work. The second approach is to apply these evaluative criteria to the practices and organization of the above mentioned school councils.

Historically there has been tension between local parent and community control and professional and centralized control in public school decision making. Provincial regulations in Ontario and in many other jurisdictions require the establishment of site-based school councils to bring together educational professionals with parents and community representatives. Ontario regulations confirm the advisory role of school councils in their mandate to improve student achievement and ensure school accountability to parents. This qualitative study examined the patterns of interaction between parents and school staff in three school councils. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with principals, vice principals, teachers, non-teaching staff and parents. Information was also obtained from participant interviews, school council minutes policy documentation and my attendance at each site-based school council meeting. The study revealed that although tensions continue to exist between home and school, the individual school context, leadership style of the principal and the relationship between the council chair and principal influence the vitality of the council. Factors that contribute to the vitality of a school council include communication strategies, characteristics of the membership, interactions at council meetings, a shared sense of purpose and practices that reflect a variety of forms of site based management. This research reveals an understanding of the relationships, strategies and processes that are important to school councils to move members towards democratic collaboration and participation. Implications for policy, school based practices and further research are described.

Historically there has been tension between local parent and community control and professional and centralized control in public school decision making. Provincial regulations in Ontario and in many other jurisdictions require the establishment of site-based school councils to bring together educational professionals with parents and community representatives. Ontario regulations confirm the advisory role of school councils in their mandate to improve student achievement and ensure school accountability to parents. This qualitative study examined the patterns of interaction between parents and school staff in three school councils. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with principals, vice principals, teachers, non-teaching staff and parents. Information was also obtained from participant interviews, school council minutes policy documentation and my attendance at each site-based school council meeting. The study revealed that although tensions continue to exist between home and school, the individual school context, leadership style of the principal and the relationship between the council chair and principal influence the vitality of the council. Factors that contribute to the vitality of a school council include communication strategies, characteristics of the membership, interactions at council meetings, a shared sense of purpose and practices that reflect a variety of forms of site based management. This research reveals an understanding of the relationships, strategies and processes that are important to school councils to move members towards democratic collaboration and participation. Implications for policy, school based practices and further research are described.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis examines the impact of implementing participatory school administration, leadership and management (PSALM) via Advisory School Councils (ASC) in Philippine public secondary schools. Through an experiment with empirical surveys, documentary analyses and interviews, this study reveals that the experimental group (EG) had higher levels of commitment, empowerment, trust and inclination for meaningful participation in improving the school compared with the control group (CG) after one year of implementing PSALM. However, the one-year experiment did not yield a significant impact on the students’ academic achievement levels. Survey respondents (735 for the 1st survey and 603 for the 2nd survey) were the school heads, teachers, students, alumni, parents and community leaders from the 76 participating schools (38 schools for experimental group and the same number for the control group). The EG perceived the ASC operations in their schools as effective. Factors that either elicit or inhibit active participation from the stakeholders in collaborative decision making have been identified. An authentic model for the effective implementation of PSALM is proposed. The study suggests that the Philippines should expedite the process of establishing school councils in the public schools as an approach for creating better schools.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis examines the impact of implementing participatory school administration, leadership and management (PSALM) via Advisory School Councils (ASC) in Philippine public secondary schools. Through an experiment with empirical surveys, documentary analyses and interviews, this study reveals that the experimental group (EG) had higher levels of commitment, empowerment, trust and inclination for meaningful participation in improving the school compared with the control group (CG) after one year of implementing PSALM. However, the one-year experiment did not yield a significant impact on the students’ academic achievement levels. Survey respondents (735 for the 1st survey and 603 for the 2nd survey) were the school heads, teachers, students, alumni, parents and community leaders from the 76 participating schools (38 schools for experimental group and the same number for the control group). The EG perceived the ASC operations in their schools as effective. Factors that either elicit or inhibit active participation from the stakeholders in collaborative decision making have been identified. An authentic model for the effective implementation of PSALM is proposed. The study suggests that the Philippines should expedite the process of establishing school councils in the public schools as an approach for creating better schools.

Education reform efforts in the last fifteen to twenty years at the state and federal levels have provisions for family/community involvement in the schools based on beliefs that partnerships lead to higher student achievement and better outcomes for students, parents and teachers. These requirements have embraced the concept of parent and community involvement in various forms including some aspects of school governance. The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 included this concept of participatory governance with the establishment of local school councils (LSC). The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the function and influence of local school councils on school improvement and to provide a better understanding of the role of parent/family and community involvement in those efforts. Data was gathered over a nine month period in three elementary schools in different communities through observation of school council meetings; interviews with various members of the school community, and review of relevant materials. Results of data analysis showed that the function and influence of local school councils on school improvement, and the impact of parent and community involvement on school council function were related to the overall culture of the school. Parent involvement in the school and parent influence on the work of the school council was strengthened by the relationship with the parent organization and other parent involvement activities in the school. The attitude and commitment to parent involvement present in the school culture, as well as, the efforts to recruit parent and community members with the resulting parity in membership also influenced the work of the school council. The results mirrored previous research that showed inconsistencies in the implementation of school councils across the country, that the evidence of their influence on school improvement has been limited, and that schools with existing parent involvement activities before the initiation of school councils had more positive influence on school improvement. Recommendations for further research in family-school relationships, training and oversight of school councils, training for educators, and the allocation of more state and local resources to support school improvement efforts are discussed.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-05-02T11:32:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 albavaleriabaensidasilva.pdf: 857786 bytes, checksum: 068abaef6c275ac42d47f41096692cda (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-06-02T15:37:04Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 albavaleriabaensidasilva.pdf: 857786 bytes, checksum: 068abaef6c275ac42d47f41096692cda (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T15:37:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 albavaleriabaensidasilva.pdf: 857786 bytes, checksum: 068abaef6c275ac42d47f41096692cda (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-19 / O presente trabalho, intitulado “O processo de implementação dos conselhos escolares na rede municipal de ensino de Magé/RJ: caminhos para a democracia na escola” teve como objetivo analisar o processo de implementação dos Conselhos Escolares na rede municipal de ensino de Magé, focando no trabalho desenvolvido pelo Departamento de Supervisão Educacional da Secretaria Municipal de Educação e Cultura (SMEC). Essas análises contribuirão para a elaboração de uma proposta de intervenção que vise tornar o processo de implementação mais eficaz. No trabalho, analisou-se a legislação existente acerca da política investigada, relacionando o contexto do município de Magé com as proposições dos documentos oficiais sobre os Conselhos Escolares. Além disso, foram explicitadas de forma detalhada a estrutura da SMEC e em seguida, especificamente o caso da implementação desta política nesta rede de ensino. A realização deste trabalho foi fundamentada nas pesquisas de Bordignon (2000; 2005), Lück (2000;2006) e Dourado (2012) no que diz respeito à gestão educacional democrática e participativa, além de suas abordagens sobre as concepções e propostas de ação dos Conselhos Escolares também fundamentadas em Luiz (2013). Os textos oficiais do Ministério da Educação foram também utilizados como referências fundamentais. Destaca-se no trabalho o desenvolvimento de um Plano de Ação Educacional que compreende estratégias com ações voltadas para formação continuada para supervisores educacionais e conselheiros escolares, acompanhamento das ações dos Conselhos Escolares e a realização do prêmio gestão escolar para valorizar experiências bem sucedidas ocorridas na rede municipal de ensino. / This work, titled " The implementation process of the school councils in the municipal school system of Magé/RJ: paths to democracy at school", aimed to analyze the implementation process of the school boards in the municipal school system of Magé, focusing on the work developed by the Department of Educational Supervision of the Municipal Department of education and culture (SMEC). These analyses will contribute to the elaboration of a proposal for intervention, which aims to make the process more effective implementation. At work, it was examined whether the existing legislation concerning the policy context relating the investigated, city of Magé/RJ with the propositions of the official documents on the school councils. In addition, were explained in detail the structure of the SMEC and then specifically the case of the implementation of this policy in this educational network. This work was based on the research of Bordignon (2000; 2005), Lück (2000; 2006) and Dourado (2012) regarding democratic and participatory educational management, in addition to their approaches on the conceptions and plans of action of the school councils also based on Luiz (2013). The official texts of the Ministry of education were also used as key references. Stands in the work to develop a plan of action comprising Educational strategies with actions geared toward continuing education for educational supervisors and school directors, monitoring the actions of the school councils and the school management award to highlight successful experiences in municipal schools.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A pesquisa objetivou investigar a formação dos conselheiros escolares nas Escolas Municipais de Duque de Caxias a partir da adesão do Município ao Programa Nacional de Fortalecimento dos Conselhos Escolares, coordenado pela Secretaria de Educação Básica do Ministério da Educação. Como o exame das ações do Programa e a identificação das mesmas no referido município perpassam pelos níveis macro, meso e micro do sistema educacional, a metodologia constituiu-se de pesquisa bibliográfica, análise de documentos, construção e retrospectiva histórica em torno do princípio da gestão democrática e dos conselhos escolares; de entrevistas no MEC, na Secretaria Municipal de Educação, com os diretores de duas escolas da rede de ensino e grupo focal com o Conselho Escolar, além da observação nas escolas. Tendo como base o princípio da democracia e a construção da prática democrática nas escolas, por meio da gestão, percebem-se os conselhos escolares como segmentos representativos, tanto da possibilidade de transformação como de manutenção dos processos que envolvem a transparência, a autonomia e a participação da comunidade escolar na gestão das escolas. A verificação das ações de um Programa governamental em escala nacional, envolvendo a colaboração entre os entes federados, permite desmistificar o distanciamento entre as esferas dos sistemas de ensino neste processo que envolve a capacitação dos conselheiros escolares. A pesquisa revelou que, embora o Município de Duque de Caxias tenha aderido ao Programa, ainda não promoveu ações no sentido de formação de seus Conselheiros Escolares. Não obstante, uma das escolas observadas no estudo promove uma dinâmica articulada, em seu funcionamento, no que se refere à participação da comunidade escolar e local na gestão da escola / This present study aims to investigate the preparation of school council members at Duque de Caxias‟s Municipal Schools derived from the city‟s affiliation to the National Program for School Councils Enhancement, coordinated by the Department of Basic Education from the Ministry of Education. Since the examination of the Program‟s actions and their identification pass by the macro, meso and micro levels of the educational system, the methodology comprised a bibliographical research, analysis of documents, construction and historical retrospective of the democratic management principle and the School Council principle; interviews carried out at MEC and at the Municipal Department of Education, interview with the principals of two schools of the Municipal sphere and a focus group with the School Council, besides observation in the schools. Based on the principle of democracy and the construction of the democratic practice in schools, by means of participative management, School Councils were considered representative segments as they are able to transform and maintain processes involving transparence, autonomy and the participation of the school community in its management. The verification of the Government Program actions on a national basis involving the cooperation among federal entities, enables the demythification of the distance among the spheres of the educational systems in this process including the capacitation of school counselors. The research revealed that, although Duque de Caxias‟s City has acceded to the Program, they haven‟t promoted any actions towards the preparation of their schools council members. Despite that, one of the observed schools in the study promotes an articulated dynamic in it‟s operation in relation to school and local and schoolcommunity participation in school management

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A pesquisa objetivou investigar a formação dos conselheiros escolares nas Escolas Municipais de Duque de Caxias a partir da adesão do Município ao Programa Nacional de Fortalecimento dos Conselhos Escolares, coordenado pela Secretaria de Educação Básica do Ministério da Educação. Como o exame das ações do Programa e a identificação das mesmas no referido município perpassam pelos níveis macro, meso e micro do sistema educacional, a metodologia constituiu-se de pesquisa bibliográfica, análise de documentos, construção e retrospectiva histórica em torno do princípio da gestão democrática e dos conselhos escolares; de entrevistas no MEC, na Secretaria Municipal de Educação, com os diretores de duas escolas da rede de ensino e grupo focal com o Conselho Escolar, além da observação nas escolas. Tendo como base o princípio da democracia e a construção da prática democrática nas escolas, por meio da gestão, percebem-se os conselhos escolares como segmentos representativos, tanto da possibilidade de transformação como de manutenção dos processos que envolvem a transparência, a autonomia e a participação da comunidade escolar na gestão das escolas. A verificação das ações de um Programa governamental em escala nacional, envolvendo a colaboração entre os entes federados, permite desmistificar o distanciamento entre as esferas dos sistemas de ensino neste processo que envolve a capacitação dos conselheiros escolares. A pesquisa revelou que, embora o Município de Duque de Caxias tenha aderido ao Programa, ainda não promoveu ações no sentido de formação de seus Conselheiros Escolares. Não obstante, uma das escolas observadas no estudo promove uma dinâmica articulada, em seu funcionamento, no que se refere à participação da comunidade escolar e local na gestão da escola / This present study aims to investigate the preparation of school council members at Duque de Caxias‟s Municipal Schools derived from the city‟s affiliation to the National Program for School Councils Enhancement, coordinated by the Department of Basic Education from the Ministry of Education. Since the examination of the Program‟s actions and their identification pass by the macro, meso and micro levels of the educational system, the methodology comprised a bibliographical research, analysis of documents, construction and historical retrospective of the democratic management principle and the School Council principle; interviews carried out at MEC and at the Municipal Department of Education, interview with the principals of two schools of the Municipal sphere and a focus group with the School Council, besides observation in the schools. Based on the principle of democracy and the construction of the democratic practice in schools, by means of participative management, School Councils were considered representative segments as they are able to transform and maintain processes involving transparence, autonomy and the participation of the school community in its management. The verification of the Government Program actions on a national basis involving the cooperation among federal entities, enables the demythification of the distance among the spheres of the educational systems in this process including the capacitation of school counselors. The research revealed that, although Duque de Caxias‟s City has acceded to the Program, they haven‟t promoted any actions towards the preparation of their schools council members. Despite that, one of the observed schools in the study promotes an articulated dynamic in it‟s operation in relation to school and local and schoolcommunity participation in school management

Submitted by Rosina Valeria Lanzellotti Mattiussi Teixeira (rosina.teixeira@unisantos.br) on 2015-03-26T17:46:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Wald¿sia Rodrigues de Lima - pdf.pdf: 2096816 bytes, checksum: 9efc8c848efcaca11b165c54593239f0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T17:46:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Wald¿sia Rodrigues de Lima - pdf.pdf: 2096816 bytes, checksum: 9efc8c848efcaca11b165c54593239f0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-11-21 / The objects of study of this work have been the municipal school councils (CEs) of the municipality of Cubatão. The problem under investigation can be summarized in the following question: What is the role that large evaluation, represented by the IDEB, plays in the CEs discussions. The aim of the study is to investigate the CEs actions regarding to the formal elementary education quality, in this case, represented by a external evaluation. The research introduces two strong justifications for that. First: the need for further analysis on the effects, the consequences of external evaluation on the school taking into account the publicity given to the its results, the repercussion for the municipal management and placing of the school under monitoring in consequence of the results. Second: the need of examining how the CE works, what can be an indicator of its consolidation as an instrument for the democratic management. The field work is concentrated in there municipal schools CEs. The study presents a qualitative approach, analyzing the guiding principle of the CEs, the IDEB and the content of CEs meeting minutes. In addition, we analyzed questionnaires applied on CEs and to 47 school principals in the same municipality. Several authors that discuss the attainments of collegiate and the public management support this work: Barroso (1996), Bordignon (2004), Dourado (2004), Gadotti (2004), Martins (2005), Scheinvar & Algebaile (2005), Silva (2006), Freire (2007), Libâneo (2008), Lima (2008) and Saviani (2009). Also, we will take into account other authors that analyze the educational policy evaluation, like:Vianna (2000), Afonso (2009) e Freitas (2009). The data analyzed show that the CEs under investigation behave as democratic management instrument. They do not explicity discuss fundamental issues to guarantee the schooling education quality: the use of financial resources from federal and municipal programs with pegagogic aims and focused on the student; disciplinary issues like the collective elaboration of conduct codes; demand for technical administrative personnel and teachers to address the lack of personnel, monitoring and decision on educational projects, therefore, they show envelopment in issues relevant to the schooling scope. / Este trabalho tem como objeto de estudo os Conselhos Escolares (CEs) de escolas municipais de ensino fundamental da cidade de Cubatão. O problema investigado pode ser resumido na questão: qual o lugar da avaliação em larga escala, representada pelo IDEB, nas discussões dos CEs? O estudo tem como objetivo investigar a atuação dos CEs no que se refere à qualidade da educação escolar, no caso, representada por uma avaliação externa. A investigação apresenta duas grandes justificativas. Primeira: a necessidade de aprofundamento da análise sobre os efeitos, os reflexos da avaliação externa na escola, considerando-se a publicidade dada aos seus resultados, as implicações para a gestão municipal e a colocação da escola sob acompanhamento, em virtude de seus resultados. Segunda: a necessidade de examinar como se dá a atuação do CE, o que pode ser um indicador de sua consolidação como instrumento de gestão democrática. O trabalho de campo está concentrado nos CEs de três escolas municipais. O estudo realizado apresenta enfoque qualitativo, com análise das diretrizes sobre os CEs, o IDEB e do conteúdo das atas de reuniões dos CEs. Além disso, foi analisado questionário aplicado pela rede municipal de ensino sobre os CEs a 47 diretores de escola do mesmo município. Apoiam este trabalho autores que discutem a atuação de colegiados e de gestão democrática, entre eles: Barroso (1996), Bordignon (2004), Dourado (2004), Gadotti (2004), Martins (2005), Scheinvar e Algebaile (2005), Silva (2006) Freire (2007), Libâneo (2008), Lima (2008), e Saviani (2009). Serão igualmente considerados autores como: Vianna (2000) Afonso (2009) e Freitas (2009), que analisam a avaliação nas políticas educacionais. Os dados analisados indicam que os CEs pesquisados atuam como instrumento de gestão democrática. Não discutem explicitamente o IDEB como indicador de qualidade da educação escolar, mas discutem questões fundamentais para a garantia de qualidade da educação escolar: a utilização de recursos financeiros oriundos de programas federais e municipais, com fins pedagógicos, e foco no aluno; questões disciplinares como a elaboração coletiva de códigos de conduta; reivindicação de pessoal técnico-administrativo e professores para suprir a falta de pessoal; acompanhamento e deliberação sobre projetos educacionais, mostrando um envolvimento em questões pertinentes ao universo escolar.